Achaea

Achaea is a region of southern Greece, located on the Peloponnese peninsula, with Patras serving as its capital. In 280 BC, the Achaean League succeeded in reducing Macedonian rule in the area, and, following Macedon's defeat by the Roman Republic in the 2nd century, the league defeated Sparta to take control of the entire region. However, in 146 BC, Achaea went to war with the Romans, and the Romans defeated the League swiftly and destroyed the ancient city of Corinth to teach the Greeks a lesson. All of mainland Greece was subjugated by Rome as a result of the brief war, and it remained a part of the Byzantine Empire after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. In 1205, the crusaders established the Principality of Achaea after the Byzantine Empire was divided into Latin states. Achaea was recaptured by the Byzantines by 1430, and it became a part of the Despotate of the Morea. In 1460, the Ottoman Empire conquered Morea, but the Republic of Venice conquered Morea in 1687 and held it until the Ottomans recaptured the region in 1715. In 1821, Achaea was liberated from Ottoman rule during the Greek War of Independence. In 2011, Achaea had a population of 309,694 people.